Snow and Ice
by Louise-Ann
Summary: Odysseus and his crew members meet an evil nymph on their way back to Ithaca and Odysseus must save his friends from her


Book 9.5: Snow and Ice  
  
"As we were moving through the wine dark sea, cold winds began to blow and the temperature dropped. We soon reached the snowy island of Chrystalia. We entered the protected harbor nearby and stopped our ship at the shore. Looking around we saw a land unknown to us, covered in a thick blanket of snow. Everything sparkled in the midday sun. The island was mostly flat with a few rolling hills, but there was one very steep hill that stood out from everything. On that hill, there was a magnificent palace made of ice. This was the palace of Stiria, the nymph who loves snow. We all thought that she would surely be able to help us and give us food.  
  
My men and I were mesmerized by the beauty of the place and desired to explore it. We desperately wanted to see what was on that snowy island. Three of my crew members stayed behind and watched the boat while the rest of my crew and I set out to see what this mysterious island held. We first walked through a forest of pine trees that towered above us all. In this forest, we found unusual animals we had never seen before. There were many small creatures that looked like rabbits but had antlers on their heads, just like a deer's. They gazed at us from their safe hiding spaces beneath the pine trees. We then came to an area with less trees and many flowers with purple petals and yellow centers.  
  
Eurylochus, along with the rest of the crew, started to get cold and became restless. 'I say we go to the palace now. I'm sure it will be warmer inside and surely the food and drink will warm our empty stomachs,' he said.  
  
'Then we shall go to the palace,' I replied. And we went up the large hill toward the palace until we reached a clearing. The palace stood before us now. It was much larger than it had appeared to us when we entered on our black ship. The crew members stared at it in awe, and when I had finished marveling at it, I walked up to the doors and knocked using the door knocker that resembled an icicle. The doors were opened at once by a tall, slender woman with auburn hair that looked to be the same color as the changing leaves in autumn. She had hazel eyes and wore a long, shimmering, white dress.  
  
She looked at us kindly and invited us in. She showed us through a long hall that was lined with ice sculptures. The crew members were amazed: 'These sculptures took great skill to make; they are amazing, with no detail forgotten.'  
  
Stiria answered: 'I'm glad you like them, for I made them myself. They really take no effort to make.' She looked at the men appraisingly and added: 'You could easily make gorgeous sculptures. I am a great judge of potential.'  
  
The nymph who loves snow then led us into the dining hall. In the center of the room stood a long, rectangular table. We sat down and Stiria and her maids brought us a delicious feast with meat, fish, bread, cheese, wine, and other delicious foods. When the men and I had finished our meals, everything was instantly cleared away by Stiria's maids. Stiria walked in, and I saw mischief in her eyes. 'Now for dessert,' she said, 'I hope you like your desserts cold.' Just then I knocked my fork under the table. I bent down under the table when suddenly Stiria blew out her icy breath, freezing all of my crew into the same kind of ice sculptures we had been complimenting earlier. Because I was covered by the table, I had not been frozen. I knew I had to find a way to unfreeze my men.  
  
When Stiria and her maids left the room, I cautiously came out from under the table, carefully making sure no one was around. A young, innocent- looking maid with bright eyes came into the room behind me without making a sound. When I turned around, I was terrified, for she might tell Stiria she had missed one of the men. The maid was carrying a torch in her hand. She quietly gave me advice: 'You want to save your men, I know. There is only one way you can do this. Take the torch I hold in my hand and go to Stiria's bedroom unseen. You must wait there next to the bed until snow- loving Stiria enters. Then hold your torch right next to her bed. It will soon begin to melt. Stiria loves her bed, for it was given to her by her husband, Glacierymus, before his tragic death. She will do anything to save the bed. If you bargain right, she will unfreeze your men and let you continue your journey in peace.'  
  
Having said that, she left before I could ask her any questions or offer her any thanks. I took the torch and bravely stole to the bedroom of the nymph who loves snow and ice. I waited there for what seemed to be a long time. Finally Stiria entered the room. She was very surprised: 'What are you doing here?' She asked with cold eyes, 'You should be frozen with the rest of the men.'  
  
I looked at her: 'I was under the table and, being careless, you left without checking to see whether you had missed anyone.'  
  
She seemed amazed: 'I have never missed anyone in the many years men have come to my palace. They are all no good.' She paused and a look of sadness overcame her face. 'Men only want to be with me in my bed, to try to replace the one man I ever loved.' Then a look of determination came over her: 'That's why I must do away with any men who come to me.'  
  
Presently, I jumped on the bed and put the great flame to its post. The nymph who loves snow suddenly fell to her knees: 'Please, stop! You can do anything, but please don't harm my bed. It was given to me by my husband before his death and it means everything to me.'  
  
I answered her: 'I will leave your bed, but you must swear to me by an oath that you will unfreeze my crew members and let us go in peace and give us food for our journey home.'  
  
She immediately swore an oath. So I followed her down to the dining hall where my crew members still stood, in their various ice sculpture positions. I kept the torch in my hand the whole time, to insure she would not go back on her word. Walking around the room, she touched each sculpture with a gorgeous jade medallion. In doing so, she glanced at me with a look of sadness and defeat, like a puppy who was no longer allowed to play its games and do what it pleased, for she had to obey the Master of Craft and keep true to the oath she had made. At her touch, each ice sculpture broke and my cold crew members stumbled away from the table.  
  
Before long I had all my crew members at my side once again. The nymph who loves snow gave us food and allowed us to leave. She did everything with care and was tentative. She didn't want to make any wrong moves, fearing her bed might be harmed. We quickly left, and once we had shut the palace doors behind us, we hastily returned to our black ship. The three crew members we left behind sighed with relief when we were on the ship once again: 'We were so worried something bad had happened to you. You were gone quite a long time. But we see you are all here and.... What's this? Food?!?'  
  
The three crew members hadn't had anything to eat and were very grateful for the food we returned with. While they ate, the crew members and I told them of everything that had happened at the palace of the nymph who loves snow. Night came and we all slept well with full stomachs. When dawn with her red-rose fingers rose once again, I ordered the crew members to their oars and they churned the water in rhythm, stroke on stroke. Leaving Stiria's island, we had a fully stocked ship and everyone was glad they would no longer have to stay at cold, unforgiving Chrystalia. 


End file.
